New club, same goal: Fabregas wants to retain trophy

He may only have joined Barça Lassa last summer after winning the VELUX EHF Champions League with Montpellier HB. But it feels like French line player Ludovic Fabregas has been at the Spanish side forever.

He scored a stunning nine goals in Nantes in last week’s first quarter-final leg, helping Barça take a clear advantage in the fight for a VELUX EHF FINAL4 ticket.

“It’s not all about me, it was team work,” Fabregas said after the 32:25 victory. “This is the first time I’ve been so successful, but I played more than usual due to Kamil Syprzak’s injury. My teammates gave me good passes, I had to convert them.”

And converting is just what he did. Not before in his six previous EHF Champions League seasons had he scored so many goals in a single match.

French players are like a second family

The 22-year-old Fabregas might be the perfect example of how to integrate a young player into a new team. For sure, things were easier for him as he already spoke Spanish, thanks to his grandmother, who was born in Catalunya.

Still, the other French players at Barça were like a second family to him,

“Cedric Sorhaindo has been a great help for me, on and off the court. We share a lot of things and he’s always of good advice,” said Fabregas, who is one of four French players at the Spanish club.

The two matches against HBC Nantes are special for Fabregas as he had not played against a French team since leaving Montpellier.

“This was the first time I came back, so yes, there were things going through my head. It was a pleasure to be there, we know how the fans are backing up the club, so I was really happy to come to Nantes,” he said.

A lot of respect

According to the line player there is a lot of respect between the players from the two teams: “We all know each other,” Fabregas said.

“What also struck me is the respect between the two clubs. It was highlighted by the fact that Nantes played the Barça anthem when we were introduced on the court. That was very nice and I want to thank them for that,” added Fabregas, who has been listening to Cant del Barça since he was a child.

Despite all the respect, there will be a fierce battle on court when Barça defend their seven-goal advantage against Nantes in the return leg in Palau Blaugrana on Saturday at 19:30 CET (live on ehfTV.com).

“We’ve done the hardest part, but I know Nantes will want to show something else in the return game,” Fabregas said. “They’ll want to push us to the limit to try and, at least, win the game. We’re only at half-time, we’ve got to carry on working, carry on playing at this level.

"The VELUX EHF FINAL4 is one of our main goals"

Fabregas definitely wants to return to Cologne with his new club, a year after winning the title with Montpellier. He could become only the second player to lift the trophy at the VELUX EHF FINAL4 in two consecutive seasons, after Ivan Cupic did it with Kielce (2016) and Vardar (2017).

“The EHF FINAL4 is one of our main goals this season, so is winning the trophy,” Fabregas said. “It would be stupid to waste all the good work done until then.”